Opinion

Rep. Maxine Waters Makes History

1/9/2019 5:01:48 PM

First Black, First Woman to Chair House Financial Services Committee
By Charlene Crowell
As 2019 begins, there is also a new Congress with leadership in the House of Representatives that makes history for people of color and women alike.
Long-time California Representative Nancy Pelosi returns as Speaker of the House—the first time in 50 years that a Member of Congress has achieved this feat. On a gender note, Speaker Pelosi becomes the most powerful woman on Capitol Hill and the only female in the nation’s history to do so.
There’s also another key...

By Julianne Malveaux
The 116th Congress, sworn in on January 3, is the most diverse our nation has ever seen. There are more women—102—than ever before. More members of the Congressional Black Caucus—55—than ever before. Indeed, a former Congressional Black Caucus intern, Lauren Underwood (D-IL) is part of the incoming first-year class. At 32, she is the youngest Black woman to serve.
This Congress includes the first Native American woman, two Muslim women, openly gay representatives, and others. Much of this diversity was displayed at the ceremonial...

By Staff Reports
As the 116th Congress begins to tackle its agenda this term, voting rights is a key issue. Among the items included in the newly introduced H.R. 1 bill, “For the People Act,” is better access to early voting, easier access to online voter registration, and the recognition of the need to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, responds to the introduction of H.R. 1. with the following statement:
“Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) has worked for...

By Marian Wright Edelman
As we begin the New Year, every new headline reminds us that these are very tumultuous times. I start this season redoubling my determination to focus all my energies towards helping build a transforming movement for children to end child poverty and inequality at this extremely dangerous time of attempted regression. And we must all strengthen our efforts to continue to try to provide a moral compass and example for our young and organize relentlessly to protect all of our children. The Children’s Defense Fund’s mission to leave no child...

By Staff Reports
EL PASO, Texas (AP)— Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Friday visited the Texas border city where an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy was detained with his father before dying in government custody.
DHS spokeswoman Katie Waldman said earlier in the week that Nielsen was scheduled to tour multiple stations and substations and was also scheduled to meet with emergency medical technicians and medical professionals, as well as local officials.
Nielsen then was scheduled to go to Yuma, Arizona, on Saturday.
DHS did not immediately release more...

Farm Bill Includes Millions for HBCUs, Black Farmers, and Rural Communities of Color

1/2/2019 10:47:21 AM

By Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02)
Congressional Black Caucus Chair
In 1986, on her award-winning “Control” album, singer-songwriter Janet Jackson asked: “What have you done for me lately?” This is a question the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is asked a lot. Well, here’s our latest answer to that question: Since its founding in 1971, the CBC has used the legislative process to right historic wrongs and to give a voice to the voiceless, and that’s exactly what we did in the $867 billion Farm Bill that passed Congress, which includes...

By Bill Fletcher, Jr.
One of the most interesting aspects of the December federal shutdown is that Trump was unapologetic in identifying that it was his intent to bring it about. Normally the President or Congress will trade blame in anticipation of the shutdown but not in this case. That Trump NOW blames the Democrats is irrelevant and transparent. He made it clear on national television that he was going to shut down the government unless he got his toy; excuse me, his wall.
We have been through shutdowns before. They are not fun, particularly for federal workers and federal...

By Julianne Malveaux
I'm leaving 2018 behind, with its myriad trials and tribulations. For me, many of the challenges revolved around the unhealthy atmosphere in Washington, D.C., and that's not likely to change. But many of the challenges, joys, and sorrows were also personal. One of them was the loss of Robby Gregg, Jr., a diversity expert and consultant at Cook Ross, a diversity and inclusion firm in the DC area that was founded by my dear friend Howard Ross.
Robby died unexpectedly at 58, just a week before Christmas. Alarmed at not having heard from him, a friend...

By Frank Clemente, Courtesy American Forum
It’s the Trump-GOP tax law’s first anniversary and the wealthy are celebrating like it was Christmas all year, which it basically was for them. Working families, on the other hand, are less festive this holiday season: they weren’t invited to the party but are expected to pay for it.
The so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law by President Trump last Dec. 22. The plan was misleadingly sold as a boon to the middle class despite ample evidence that it really catered to the well-off and...

By Rev. Jesse Jackson
In 2019, we will commemorate 400 years since the first 20 slaves were transported by ship from Africa by white slave traders and landed in Jamestown, Va.
Now four centuries later, race remains a central dividing line. Today, for example, the racial wealth gap exposes a stark difference. The median wealth of a white household (median means half are above and half below) is 12 times greater than that of a black household. The median wealth of a white household is $134,430, of blacks it is $11,030.
This is virtually all about equity in a home, the leading...